Terms of Service

1. Who we are

ChefSphere is operated by ChefSphere OÜ, a private limited company incorporated in Estonia, registry code 17470129, entered in the Estonian Commercial Register at the Tartu County Court Registration Department (business register card No. 1). Our service address is c/o E-Residency Hub OÜ, Ahtri tn 12, 10151 Tallinn, Harju maakond, Estonia. Throughout these Terms we refer to ChefSphere OÜ as "ChefSphere", "we", "us", or "our".

You can reach us at [email protected] for any question about these Terms, and at [email protected] for help with the Service.

2. What these Terms cover

These Terms form a binding agreement between you and ChefSphere when you access or use the ChefSphere mobile application on iOS or Android, the ChefSphere website at chefsphere.app, the in-app programmes (including meal planning, AI Chef, Chef Lives, Couples, Family and Friends zones, ChefCoins, the verified badge, and any other feature we offer), and the Ebook Marketplace and Tools Marketplace (together, the "Service").

By creating an account, signing in, or otherwise using the Service, you confirm that you accept these Terms and the documents they reference, in particular the Privacy Policy, the Subscription & Auto-Renewal Terms, the Acceptable Use Policy, the AI Disclosure, the Cookie Policy, the Refund Policy, the EU Digital Services Act Notice, the Children & Age Policy, and the Copyright & DMCA Policy. If you use the Ebook Marketplace or Tools Marketplace, the marketplace addendums linked from those sections also apply.

If you do not accept these Terms, do not use the Service.

3. Eligibility and accounts

ChefSphere operates a four-tier age policy that is set out in full in the Children & Age Policy:

• Free ChefSphere account: 13 years (global floor, COPPA-aligned). In the EEA and UK, users aged 13 to 16 minus one need verifiable consent from a parent or legal guardian under Art. 8 GDPR.
• Online marketplace transactions (buying ebooks, buying or selling through Stripe-processed tool orders): 16 years — below that age, distance-contract purchases must be concluded by a parent or legal guardian.
• In-person tool meet-ups: 18 years for every party to the physical handover (safety and liability rule).
• Commercial sellers and ebook authors: 18 years or contractual majority of the country of residence, whichever is higher, plus identity verification and Stripe Connect onboarding.

To use most features you need an account. You agree to provide accurate registration information, keep it current, keep your password confidential, and take responsibility for all activity under your account. Notify us without delay at [email protected] if you believe your account has been compromised. One natural person may hold one personal account; additional accounts for the same person may be restricted or closed.

4. Subscriptions, addons, and in-app purchases

The Service is offered at three tiers: Free, Premium, and Pro. You can also buy swipe addon packs, ChefCoins, the verified badge, single ebooks, tool listings, and other one-time or recurring items. Prices, billing intervals, and what is included at each tier are displayed in the app at the point of purchase and are also summarised in the Subscription & Auto-Renewal Terms. Unless stated otherwise, all prices are quoted inclusive of applicable taxes.

Subscriptions purchased through the Apple App Store or Google Play are billed by Apple or Google under their own terms, and cancellation and refund requests for those purchases must be made through the relevant store. Subscriptions purchased on the web are billed through our payment processor and can be managed from your ChefSphere account. The Refund Policy explains which refunds we offer and which are governed by the store. For purchases of digital content or services on the web where you request immediate performance, Art. 16(m) of Directive 2011/83/EU disapplies the 14-day right of withdrawal only where you have (i) given prior express consent to immediate performance and (ii) expressly acknowledged that this consent causes the loss of the right of withdrawal. Both statements are collected as separate checkout controls. For Tools Marketplace physical-good orders, the 14-day right of withdrawal remains available and can be exercised using the statutory model form hosted at /legal/tools/withdrawal-form (Annex I(B) of Directive 2011/83/EU).

5. What you can and cannot do

You may use the Service for your personal, non-commercial purposes, and for the commercial purposes expressly offered to you (for example selling an ebook you authored, or listing a tool you own). You agree to use the Service lawfully and in line with the Acceptable Use Policy, which sets out the rules for recipes, posts, prices, messages, profiles, live streams, and any content you upload or share.

You must not misuse the Service. In particular, you must not attempt to access systems or data you are not authorised to access, interfere with or disrupt the Service, scrape or harvest content except as permitted by a documented API, reverse-engineer or circumvent technical protections, or use the Service to infringe the rights of others.

6. User content and licence to us

You keep ownership of the content you create or upload — your recipes, prices, ratings, reviews, comments, profile information, photos, live streams, ebooks, and tool listings ("User Content"). By posting User Content you grant ChefSphere a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable licence to host, store, cache, copy, reformat, display, distribute, and make it available through the Service, and to create technical derivatives (thumbnails, transcripts, embeddings for search and recommendations) strictly for the operation, improvement, security, and promotion of the Service. This licence lasts as long as the User Content is available through the Service and for the reasonable additional period needed to remove it from caches, backups, and search indexes.

If you sell content or products through a Marketplace, the relevant Marketplace Addendum may describe additional rights and obligations (for example how ebook distribution, royalties, and takedowns work).

Nothing in this clause transfers ownership to us. You are responsible for the User Content you post and you represent that you have the rights to post it. We may, without any obligation to monitor, remove or restrict User Content that in our reasonable assessment violates these Terms, the law, or the rights of others, as further described in the Acceptable Use Policy and the EU Digital Services Act Notice.

7. Our content, trademarks, and software

The Service, our software, interface, design, databases, brand elements, and trademarks (including the name ChefSphere and our logos) are owned by ChefSphere or our licensors and are protected by copyright, trademark, database, and other laws. We grant you a personal, limited, non-transferable, non-exclusive, revocable licence to use the Service for the purposes allowed by these Terms. No other rights are granted.

8. AI features

The Service offers AI-powered features including AI Chef, fridge/food photo analysis, preference and budget matching, meal plan generation, recipe URL extraction, and AI-assisted content moderation. The AI Disclosure explains how these features work, the categories of providers we use, your rights under the EU AI Act, and the limits of AI output. AI output is informational only and is not medical, dietary, financial, or legal advice.

9. Third-party services and marketplaces

Some features depend on third-party services (for example App Store and Google Play billing, Apple and Google sign-in, payment processing for web, live-video providers, and cloud infrastructure providers). Your use of those features is also subject to the third party's own terms. If you buy or sell on the Ebook or Tools marketplaces, those transactions are between you and the other user; ChefSphere acts as an intermediary under the rules set out in the relevant Marketplace Addendum.

10. Service availability, changes, and beta features

We work hard to keep the Service available, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted operation. Scheduled maintenance, emergency maintenance, App Store and Google Play review processes, and third-party outages can interrupt the Service. We may add, change, or remove features at any time, including retiring features that have a low usage base or that are no longer sustainable. Where the change materially reduces what we provide to a paid subscriber, we will give reasonable notice and, where appropriate, offer a pro-rated refund as described in the Refund Policy.

Beta or experimental features may be offered from time to time. They are provided as-is, may be unstable, and may be withdrawn without notice.

11. Suspension and termination

You may close your account at any time from the app settings or by writing to [email protected]. We may suspend or terminate your access, with or without notice, if you materially breach these Terms, if your use creates a risk of legal exposure for us or another user, if required by law, or if your account has been inactive for an extended period. Where we terminate for convenience rather than breach, we will refund any remaining portion of a paid period that has not yet been used, to the extent technically possible. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (for example IP, disclaimers, limitations of liability, indemnities, dispute resolution) will survive.

12. Disclaimers

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Service is provided "as is" and "as available". We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of harmful components, that AI output will be accurate or suitable for your specific situation, that user-generated content (including prices, reviews, and recipes) is accurate, or that listings on the Tools or Ebook Marketplaces match the descriptions provided by the other party. Nothing in this clause excludes or limits liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited, including your statutory rights as a consumer.

13. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, neither party shall be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill, or business opportunities. Our aggregate liability to you for any claim arising out of or relating to the Service in any twelve-month period is limited to the greater of (a) the amount you paid ChefSphere for the Service in that twelve-month period and (b) fifty euros (€50). Nothing in these Terms limits liability for gross negligence, wilful misconduct, death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or any other liability that cannot be limited under applicable law.

14. Consumer protections

If you use the Service as a consumer, nothing in these Terms affects the mandatory rights granted to you by the law of your country of residence, including rights under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), Directive 2011/83/EU (Consumer Rights), Directive (EU) 2019/770 (digital content), Directive (EU) 2019/771 (sale of goods), and their national transpositions. Where a clause of these Terms would restrict such rights, the mandatory rule prevails over that clause.

14.1 No unfair commercial practices, no dark patterns

ChefSphere commits to designing, organising, and operating every user-facing flow — sign-up, consent, purchase, subscription, cancellation, review, report — in a way that:

• does not mislead the average consumer within the meaning of Arts. 5–7 of Directive 2005/29/EC (Unfair Commercial Practices Directive), including the specific practices listed in Annex I of that Directive;
• does not use so-called "dark patterns" — that is, design choices that deceive, manipulate, or materially distort the ability of recipients of the Service to make free and informed decisions — as prohibited by Art. 25 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (DSA);
• does not impose asymmetric friction between granting and withdrawing consent to optional processing, or between subscribing and cancelling, in line with the EDPB 2023 Guidelines 03/2022 on deceptive design patterns;
• does not use confirmshaming, hidden defaults, pre-ticked boxes, forced continuity, or bait-and-switch tactics.

If you believe a ChefSphere flow violates any of these rules, write to [email protected]; we investigate every report and publish aggregate numbers in our DSA transparency report.

15. Governing law and disputes

These Terms and any non-contractual obligations arising out of or in connection with them are governed by the laws of the Republic of Estonia, without giving effect to conflict-of-law rules that would apply a different law. Business-to-business disputes shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Harju County Court (Harju Maakohus), Tallinn. If you act as a consumer, you may also bring proceedings in the courts of your country of residence, and we will bring proceedings against you only in the courts of that country. The European Commission's Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform was discontinued on 20 July 2025 by Regulation (EU) 2024/3228. EU consumers may instead contact an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) entity notified under Directive 2013/11/EU in their country; the competent authority of each Member State maintains the list. EU users may also use an out-of-court dispute-settlement body certified under Article 21 of the Digital Services Act; see the EU DSA Notice.

16. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms when our Service, the law, or the applicable store rules change. If a change is material, we will give notice in-app or by email at least 30 days before the new Terms take effect, except where a shorter period is required by law or by a security or regulatory concern. Continued use of the Service after the effective date of the updated Terms constitutes acceptance; if you do not accept, you must stop using the Service and may close your account.

17. Miscellaneous

These Terms, together with the documents they reference, form the entire agreement between you and ChefSphere for the Service and supersede any prior agreements between us on this subject. If any provision is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of it. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them to an affiliate or to a successor in a reorganisation, merger, or sale, on notice to you.

18. Apple App Store and Google Play additional terms

When you download, install, or use the ChefSphere mobile app through the Apple App Store or Google Play, the following additional terms apply on top of the rest of these Terms. They are required by the store operators as a condition of distribution and they protect both you and us.

18.1 Acknowledgement

These Terms are a binding agreement between you and ChefSphere only — not between you and Apple Inc. or Google LLC. ChefSphere, not Apple or Google, is solely responsible for the app and its content.

18.2 Scope of the mobile-app licence

We grant you a limited, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable licence to install and use the ChefSphere app on any iPhone, iPad, or Apple-branded device that you own or control, in line with the Usage Rules of the Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions, and on any Android device that you own or control, in line with the Google Play Terms of Service. You may not use the app on a device that you do not own or control, except as the relevant store's Usage Rules expressly allow (for example Family Sharing).

18.3 Maintenance and support

ChefSphere is solely responsible for providing any maintenance and support for the app, as described in these Terms or in the in-app support section. Apple and Google have no obligation whatsoever to furnish any maintenance or support services in relation to the app.

18.4 Warranty and refund of the purchase price

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the app is provided "as is". Any statutory consumer warranty that cannot lawfully be disclaimed remains in force. If the app fails to conform to a warranty that cannot lawfully be disclaimed, you may notify Apple, and Apple will refund the purchase price (if any) paid for the app through the App Store; to the maximum extent permitted by law, Apple has no other warranty obligation whatsoever. For purchases on Google Play, Google's refund policy applies. Any warranty claim beyond what Apple or Google refunds is the sole responsibility of ChefSphere.

18.5 Product and intellectual-property claims

ChefSphere — not Apple or Google — is responsible for addressing any claim by you or a third party relating to the app or your possession or use of it, including product-liability claims, claims that the app does not conform to a legal or regulatory requirement, and claims arising under consumer-protection or similar legislation. If a third party claims that the app or your use of it infringes that third party's intellectual-property rights, ChefSphere — not Apple or Google — will be solely responsible for the investigation, defence, settlement, and discharge of that claim, to the extent required by these Terms.

18.6 Third-party beneficiary

You acknowledge and agree that Apple, and Apple's subsidiaries, are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms as they apply to your licence of the ChefSphere iOS app, and that, upon your acceptance of these Terms, Apple will have the right (and will be deemed to have accepted the right) to enforce these Terms against you as a third-party beneficiary. The equivalent right is granted to Google LLC in respect of the Android app.

18.7 Legal compliance and export control

You represent and warrant that (a) you are not located in a country that is subject to a U.S. Government embargo or that has been designated by the U.S. Government as a "terrorist-supporting" country, (b) you are not listed on any U.S., EU, UK, or UN list of prohibited or restricted parties, and (c) you will comply with applicable export-control and sanctions law when you use the app.

18.8 Restore previous purchases

Non-consumable in-app purchases (for example lifetime add-ons) and active subscriptions are tied to your store account — your Apple ID on iOS or your Google account on Android. If you reinstall the app, replace your device, or sign in from a new device, you can restore previously purchased items without paying again by using the in-app Restore Purchases action. On iOS the restore is attested by Apple against the Apple ID that made the purchase; on Android the restore is attested by Google against the Google account used at purchase. Restoration does not change your current subscription renewal date or the price you were charged.

18.9 In-app account deletion and data removal

You can delete your ChefSphere account and the personal data associated with it at any time, free of charge, directly from inside the app at Settings → Account → Delete Account, or from the web when signed in at https://chefsphere.app → Settings → Account → Delete Account. A public summary of this process for App Store Connect, Google Play, and regulators is published at Account deletion information. Once you confirm the request, your account enters a short grace period during which you can reverse the deletion. After that grace period ends your account is permanently deleted, associated personal data is removed from our production systems within 30 days, and from rolling backups within the additional period described in the Privacy Policy. Records we are required to keep by law (for example invoices under the Estonian Accounting Act, KYC under EU AML rules, and DSA moderation records) are retained for the statutory period and then deleted. Deletion does not by itself cancel an active subscription billed by Apple or Google — you must also cancel the subscription through the store as described in the Subscription & Auto-Renewal Terms.

18.10 Store terms also apply

Use of the app on iOS is also subject to the Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions. Use of the app on Android is also subject to the Google Play Terms of Service. Purchases made through the App Store or Google Play are additionally governed by the store's purchase terms and refund policy; see Section 4 above and the Refund Policy.

19. Contacting us

• Legal notices and service of process: [email protected]
• Privacy and data requests: [email protected]
• Data Protection Officer: [email protected]
• Support and account issues: [email protected]
• Trust & safety / acceptable-use reports: [email protected]
• EU Digital Services Act single point of contact: [email protected]
• Copyright / DMCA notices: [email protected]
• Billing, invoices, and refunds: [email protected]

Postal address: ChefSphere OÜ, c/o E-Residency Hub OÜ, Ahtri tn 12, 10151 Tallinn, Harju maakond, Estonia.